Word of the Week - Ferry

I took the camper van on the ferry from Birkenhead to Belfast this week to visit child 4 and family. Usually I fly when I go on my own, but this time I needed transport to literally ferry the grandchildren around.

I booked an overnight crossing after work last week. I drove up with a stop on route for coffee and arrived 2 hours early at the port.

Loading of vans was delayed until after all the freight lorries were on board and we didn't sail until gone 11pm (half an hour late)

There were no cabins available, but with Stena we have gold membership and I had free access to the Stena plus lounge.

It was packed, but I managed to find a seat and armed with my blanket and pillow I did manage a couple of hours sleep on the floor.

I had a 45 minute drive the other end, so I was able to manage.

Coming home, there were no cabins available again so I booked the day crossing as I wasn't sure I'd manage a 3 hour drive home after a night with no sleep.

It's only the 2nd time I've done a day crossing, I get sea sick and the last time was not a good trip.

This crossing was nice and calm and I bagged a sofa in the lounge again and got my head down for the first couple of hours and had a nap.

I had a packed lunch with me and I bought some chips and took advantage of the free soft drinks, tea and coffee and I'd also had some breakfast, including gluten free flap jacks.

I had a couple of walks around the ferry and I took some photos of the boat for the grandchildren.

The weather was really nice on the way out of Belfast, I sat in the sun until we reached the open sea.

The rest of time I caught up with the soaps on my phone, did some blogging and sorted through some diary appointments.

I had a 3 hour drive home, still in daylight, with a coffee and wee stop, unpacked the van, had a bath and went to bed.

We'll probably travel over again in July for a few days. The next trip after that won't be until October/November for eldest grandsons 4th birthday.